Introduction to GitLab

1. What is GitLab?

GitLab is a web-based Git repository that offers free open and private repositories with issue tracking capabilities. It is a comprehensive DevOps platform that allows professionals to perform all tasks within a project — from project planning and source code management to monitoring and security. Additionally, GitLab enables teams to collaborate and build better software.

GitLab helps teams reduce product lifecycle time and increase productivity, thus creating value for customers. This application does not require users to manage permissions for each tool. If permissions are set once, everyone in the organization has access to all components.

2. How to Use GitLab?

The main benefit of using GitLab is that it allows all team members to collaborate at every stage of a project. GitLab offers traceability from planning to product creation, helping developers automate the entire DevOps lifecycle and achieve the best possible outcomes. More and more developers are starting to use GitLab due to its diverse features and ability to utilize available code blocks.

3. Example of GitLab

3.1 Project Context

A small software company is developing a complex web application with a team of 10 developers, a project manager, and a security specialist. The company needs a solution to manage source code, automate the CI/CD process, track project progress, and ensure application security.

3.2 Scenario

1. Distributed Source Code Management: Each developer works on their own branches, facing difficulties in merging code, leading to conflicts and errors.
2. Lack of Automation: Source code review and application deployment are done manually, leading to errors and wasted time.
3. Difficulty in Tracking Progress: The project manager struggles to track work progress and manage tasks.
4. Security Issues: The source code is not regularly checked for security, making it prone to vulnerabilities.

3.3 Solution with GitLab

Step 1: Source Code Management

The development team creates a project on GitLab and initializes a Git repository. Each developer works on their own branches and uses Merge Requests (MR) to merge code into the main branch, reducing conflicts and errors.

Step 2: CI/CD Automation

The development team creates a .gitlab-ci.yml file to define pipelines that automate the build, test, and deployment processes.

yamlCopy code
stages:
  - build
  - test
  - deploy

build:
  stage: build
  script:
    - echo "Building the application..."
    - # Lệnh build ứng dụng

test:
  stage: test
  script:
    - echo "Running tests..."
    - # Lệnh chạy các bài kiểm tra tự động

deploy:
  stage: deploy
  script:
    - echo "Deploying the application..."
    - # Lệnh triển khai ứng dụng

Step 3: Project Management and Progress Tracking

The project manager uses GitLab’s project management tools like Kanban boards and issues to track and manage work. Whenever a new task arises, an issue is created and assigned to the corresponding developer.

Step 4: Ensuring Security

The security specialist uses GitLab’s security tools to automatically check the source code and detect security vulnerabilities. Security issues are identified and addressed promptly.

3.4 Results

With GitLab, this software company has optimized its application development process:

1. Effective Source Code Management: Minimized code conflicts and errors thanks to the Merge Request process.
2. CI/CD Automation: Reduced manual errors and saved time with automated pipelines.
3. Easy Progress Tracking: The project manager has an overview of progress and easily manages tasks.
4. Improved Security: The source code is regularly checked, and security vulnerabilities are identified promptly.

Using GitLab has significantly improved the company’s work efficiency, reduced development time, and ensured the quality of the final product.

References

Using GitLab to Manage Project Source Code (notion.site)